| I've got neighbors that have bottled water delivered but wife buys
| bottled when she wants water to just drink.
I'm not aware of any regulations on bottled water.
Where I live, at least, I know that it can be legally
sold in a bottle marked "Crystal Spring Water" having
been filled out of any old tap. And then there's the
question of possible chemicals leeching in from the
plastic bottles. It's fine when local water is not safe,
but the idea of bottled water being superior is a
case of marketing overwhelming common sense.
A great example is Dasani, from Coca Cola. In many
cases it's just filtered local water with minerals
added back in. They don't even pretend otherwise!
----------------------------------
Expertly Designed Water
In designing DASANI to be the best tasting water, we start with the local
water supply, which is then filtered by reverse osmosis to remove
impurities. The purified water is then enhanced with a special blend of
minerals for the pure, crisp, fresh taste that?s delightfully DASANI.
http://www.dasani.com/
----------------------------
A lot of fancy talk to say, "We're charging you an arm
and a leg for your own water, sucker."
In some cases it's reportedly water
from India, which created a water crisis there because
Coca Cola was taking too much of it. Yet yuppies go
and pay ridiculous prices at their health clubs because
the bottles look good and the name sounds stylish.

I know this is true, I read it on the internet.
The fact is over 3 orders of magnitude from this assertion, at least
here.
"City" water is almost a penny a gallon when you factor in the sewer,
that you pay based on water use.
http://www.leegov.com/gov/dept/Utilities/Pages/UserFees.aspx
$3.27 + $5.85 a thousand gallons for the first 6000 (.92 cents a
gallon)and $4.09 for the next 3000 (.994 cents a gallon) where the
sewer gets capped.
The water gets more expensive tho.
I can buy a gallon of bottled water at the grocery store for 69 cents.
35 .5l bottles (about 4.4 gallons) is $4-5 at Sams
!00,000 times? Not hardly, more like 70-80 times as much.

| $3.27 + $5.85 a thousand gallons for the first 6000 (.92 cents a
| gallon)and $4.09 for the next 3000 (.994 cents a gallon) where the
| sewer gets capped.
| The water gets more expensive tho.
|
| I can buy a gallon of bottled water at the grocery store for 69 cents.
| 35 .5l bottles (about 4.4 gallons) is $4-5 at Sams
|
| !00,000 times? Not hardly, more like 70-80 times as much.
On the other hand, $2 for 16 oz. is not an unusual
way to buy it. Nearly everyone I know will buy a
bottle when they're out and about, rather than carrying
water with them. I even often see people buy a bottle
in a sandwhich shop rather than ask for a glass of water
that's made available. They feel like they're buying an
official drink to go with their meal. A glass of water just
isn't official enough. That's $16/gallon, which is more than
1,600 times the cost you quote. That may not be 100,000
time as much, but it's getting up there. Now, say you're
stuck in an airport terminal and want to buy an 8 oz
bottle.... :)
(I haven't actually flown since 9/11, but I've been told
that one of the current scams is that one cannot carry
more than 3 oz of liquid. Apparently a lot of planes are
blown up with shampoo. But once one has passed the
security gauntlet one can buy bottled water to take on
the plane. I can only guess what they charge that
captive audience.)

| > (I haven't actually flown since 9/11, but I've been told
| >that one of the current scams is that one cannot carry
| >more than 3 oz of liquid.
|
| you can bring an _empty_ water bottle past the TSA
| checkpoint, then fill it up at a water fountain
| in the secured zone.
I've heard that. Yet people buy the water. It's as
though we've been gradually trained to feel that if
it's not a retail experience it's not any experience at
all. :)

Another issue is, if you want to find out just how bad your water is,
put it in a canteen and let it sit there for a week or two.
Bottled water will last for years, typical tap water becomes a science
fair project pretty fast, particularly well water. ... and that was
what we were talking about.

| >| you can bring an _empty_ water bottle past the TSA
| >| checkpoint, then fill it up at a water fountain
| >| in the secured zone.
| >
| > I've heard that. Yet people buy the water. It's as
| >though we've been gradually trained to feel that if
| >it's not a retail experience it's not any experience at
| >all. :)
| >
|
| Another issue is, if you want to find out just how bad your water is,
| put it in a canteen and let it sit there for a week or two.
| Bottled water will last for years, typical tap water becomes a science
| fair project pretty fast, particularly well water. ... and that was
| what we were talking about.
We were? Who stores water for a week before going
to the airport? The discussion started out talking about
the pros and cons of hard water, but this sub-thread
has been about the pros and cons of buying bottled water
and about the stunning amount of water sold for no
good reason, including "designer" water that's simply
tap water or distilled water with minerals added back in.
If I were going to store a week's worth of bottled
water (why? for a camping trip?) I might buy the first lot.
I'd refill the bottles next time. My local water is chlorinated
and I have no reason to think it would degrade. Bottled
water I've tried from plastic gallon jugs, on the other hand,
is generally nasty stuff with an odd, musty taste.
On the other hand, I guess that may be relative. If you
live in Florida you may not have access to clean-tasting
water. In that case I suppose cheapo bottled water may
actually taste good, and Texas water in Florida may seem
like famous French water does to New Yorkers. Looked at
that way, I guess $.69/gallon for "El Paso Evian" is actually
a good deal. :)

I find that true if the water is exposed to the air. In a closed
container, it lasts much longer.
BTW, a closed container, such as the small bottle I carry when me almost
every time I leave the house. I seldom use bottled water. It's too easy
to fill the bottle at home.
BTW, I'm currently using one marked "TSA approved".

iIRC 25 years ago, I never used to be thirsty except at meal time or
after working in the sun.
Now I have a bottle of water next to my bed, and another bottle in the
basement where the computer is, and I drink a lot from both of them.
And I carry either a canteen or a bottle of water in the car, at least
in the summer, and I drink from it too, at red lights etc.
I wonder why.

They told us the water would be turned off one day, so I fillled two
2-liter bottles, but I never drank any of it. I'll try it soon.
I do keep a bottle of water on the back deck, for when I get thirsty
there. It's lasted from summer to fall, and again until spring and
tasted fine.
No particles visible in either of these . I guess we have good water.

Apples and oranges. Now you are talking about the price of a "one off"
purchase from high mark up retailer. If you compare Desani to Pepsi,
you are saying a couple of tablespoons of sugar is worth buck more
too.
BTW do you carry a canteen around? Would anyone?

I fly all the time. You can't bring a drink through security but once
you get to the concourse, you can have all you want.
If it is really that important to you, carry your canteen through
security empty and fill it up in the bath room
They always give me water or anything else I want to drink gratis on
the plane but I ride up front.

| Apples and oranges. Now you are talking about the price of a "one off"
| purchase from high mark up retailer. If you compare Desani to Pepsi,
| you are saying a couple of tablespoons of sugar is worth buck more
| too.
|
It was meant as a joke. The idea of debating 100,000
times vs 70-80 times seemed a bit silly.... Whether it's
100,000 times, 1,600 times or 70 times the cost, it's still
an absurd waste to buy bottled water in a 1st-world
country with plenty of drinkable, tested water available
out of the tap, and with no reason to think that the bottled
water is particularly good, or even as safe as one's own
tap water.
| BTW do you carry a canteen around? Would anyone?
|
Yes, I do. Why not? I generally have a quart Gatorade
bottle full of water. It's strong, non-BPA plastic and the
bottle costs about $2 vs $10-$30 for special, high-tech,
official water bottles that people carry to the gym or
on bikes.
I wonder why anyone *wouldn't*. I don't see many
water fountains these days. If I'm going out for a few
hours, regardless of where I'm going, I'm going to get
thirsty. So why not bring some water? Do you just buy
sodas everywhere you go? Two bucks for a concoction
of acid, water, sugar and who-knows-what flavoring?
Why would anyone do that?
Or maybe you're one of the people supporting the bottled
water industry, with empty 12 oz and 16 oz bottles strewn
around your house and car? If so then I'd like to show you
my collection of pet rocks and twigs. They make great
companions and I'm selling them cheap... For a limited
time only!!! The pebbles start at a mere $35 and come
with an official certificate declaring them to be official
pebbles. You don't want to miss this deal! And it's 10%
off if you buy a dozen or more. In fact, this week only
I'm selling a whole wheelbarrow full for only $3,400. (Plus
a shipping and handling fee of $637.42) I'll throw in 6
steak knives and a slicer-dicer for free!!! :)
I always bring my Gatorade bottle to work, as well.
I can drink up to 1/2 gallon some days at work. If I'm
working in the summer at a place with no water available,
or where the water is bad quality, I often bring 2 bottles.
I take a bottle in the truck whenever I go out. Who
wouldn't? :)
But you've got me wondering now. If it's never occured
to the majority of the population that they can carry liquids
with them on their travels then there might be a great
business opportunity here. I won't even need to put water
in bottles in order to sell them. I can sell them as official
*portable* containers! I imagine it won't be hard to get
a UL seal and all that other official stuff. I can't believe
no one else has thought of this. And the marketing will
be easy:
"Tired of the tyranny of $3 drinks at theaters?... Sick
of searching high and low for a water fountain at the mall?
... Frustrated with trying to find a convenience store on
the Interstate when you're thirsty?... Well, suffer no more!
Now there's the new Acme Portable Container! In 4 different
sizes for all occasions!"
Then I'll warn people that, due to germ risks, the bottles
shouldn't be used more than 3 times. That'll take care of
that pesky saturated market problem.

They say the sweeteners are what kill you in the diet drinks.
Saccharin used to kill rats in the old days, now it's Aspartame. I've
been drinking one or the other for over 40 years now so I'm surely on
death's door.

I think we're both really really glad you're not me.

I do own some PepsiCo stock but even at five drinks a day I don't
think that I help Pepsi's bottom line all that much.

The empties go in my recycling bin.

When buying a car one of the things high on my list is how many drink
holders it has.

Well duh. Every convenience/grocery/Walmart/etc store in my town sells
them. I imagine for folks just like you. (Google 'water bottles' for
examples.)

Yup.

Nope. I seldom drink water.

My biggest problem on the interstate is finding a place to piss. For
that reason I try to drink less when traveling.

| I think we're both really really glad you're not me.
|
Indeed. :)
I can't imagine anyone not enjoying fresh water.
To me it's a sensual experience when one is thirsty.
In fact, Van Morrison once wrote about that, both
the drinking of it and the experience of it on one's
skin on a hot day: "stone me to my soul; stone me
just like jelly rolls; stone me just like going home".

Log in

HomeOwnersHub.com is a website for homeowners and building and maintenance pros. It is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.